T. Rowe Price to issue special dividend

Baltimore-based T. Rowe Price announced Thursday it will pay a special cash dividend before the end of the year, joining other companies that are declaring extra dividends in case taxes go up in 2013. Price will pay $1 per share on Dec. 28th to shareholders of record as Dec. 17th for a total payout of about $255 million. The Bush-era tax cuts are expected to expire at the end of the year. If the White House and Congress can't work out a compromise, dividend income will once more be taxed at ordinary income tax rates, which could be as high as 39.6 percent.